Your routines provide structure to your days.

How are your routines moving along today? With a Holiday on Monday, you probably are still adjusting to what day of the week it is, but the beautiful thing about a daily routine is that it gives you structure to guide you days. You do not have to spin your wheels or move from thing to thing, but you can use your daily routine to help you focus on decluttering your home and bringing peace to your family.

In recent days, I have talked to ladies who worked really hard getting ready for Christmas, and now they are happy to get back to a normal routine. Some of you have crisis cleaned for guests, and you desperately want to keep things moving along in the same direction. Because we live in our homes, we will always have things that need to be done.

The secret I have to keeping your home clean and picked up is using my daily routines. If the boys get things out, they know to put them away when they are done. They do not leave toys, books, or their stuff all over the house. This did not happen overnight for them. It took years of practicing the daily routine of picking up behind themselves.

I asked you to practice your Before Bed Routine for two weeks because this is the one routine that helps you the most, and it is the routine most of you struggle with. By the time you get to dinner, you are tired, and your family is tired. Things start falling to the wayside.

Shining your kitchen sink does not have to take a long time in the evening. Run some hot soapy water on one side while you are cooking dinner, and you can wash and rinse as you go along. It surprises me at times to see my sons do this when they are in the kitchen. I have not verbally told them to do this, but they are mirroring what they have seen me do.

Someone asked me this week what a launch pad is. Since this is an important part of the Before bed Routine, let’s talk about it. A launch pad can be any spot in the house where you put things you will need for the next day. This could be clothes, keys, bags, or any item you need to take with you when you leave the house.

For most people, the launch pad is near the main entryway of the home, but it can be in a hallway, mudroom, or other place in your home. By establishing a certain place to put items, you don’t have to think about where things are when you are ready to leave.

Tell me how you are doing with your Before Bed Routine and shining your sink daily.

About Tami

Tami Fox is a homeschool mom of 6, who in age from 26 to 11. She and her husband have homeschooled for 17 years and have graduated three of their children from their homeschool. They are currently homeschooling 3 boys who are in grades 11, 9, and 6. They use hands-on learning and unit studies to ignite the fire of learning in their children. Tami is a homeschool author and conference speaker. You can contact her by email at Tami@TamiFox.com.
Buy her book, Giving Your Children Wings at http://www.tamifox.net/giving-your-children-wings/.